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NCAA Tournament: Storylines For Every Sweet 16 Team

By Nathan Giese

Mar 20, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates defeating the Virginia Commonwealth Rams 85-81 during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates defeating the Virginia Commonwealth Rams 85-81 during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 19, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams yells from the sidelines in the second half against the Providence Friars during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams yells from the sidelines in the second half against the Providence Friars during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

North Carolina: Can They Have One Final Hoorah Before It All Comes Crumbling Down?

Something that got a lot of publicity over the summer but hasn’t been spoken about much since November is the dark cloud that hangs over North Carolina, both on and off the court.

Everyone knows about the University of North Carolina’s academic scandal as it has been talked about for years. The NCAA finally revealed its findings from its investigation in June. The men’s program was barely mentioned in the findings, but it’s likely that they still face some consequences, as will the rest of the university and its athletic department.

For the Tar Heels, this could mean sanctions, including the removal of past championships (2005) and a postseason ban of some kind. Because of how this current roster was set up, the school slyly extended the timeline by “finding” two new infractions, which extended their timeframe to respond to the original investigation.

Based on this timeline provided by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander and given the extended time added with those two new findings, those infractions could come, oh, any day now.

In actuality, it’s highly unlikely the NCAA hands down any sort of sanction while the Tar Heel men are still in the NCAA tournament and as a Sweet 16 team, there’s even more bought time. As long as UNC is still in the tournament, they should be safe.

But once this run ends, whenever that is, it’ll likely lead to some sort of postseason ban. For the seniors (Marcus Paige, Joel James and Brice Johnson) that won’t mean much, but for players like Kennedy Meeks, Justin Jackson, Joel Berry and Nate Britt, they could miss out on the postseason if they decide to return to school.

This could be it for this cast of Tar Heels, their one and only shot at bringing home a national title, or at the very least a Final Four appearance. One last shot at One Shining Moment for the Tar Heel faithful before everything changes and they (potentially) become another SMU or Louisville or Syracuse.

Is this it for the Tar Heels, or do they keep extending that timeline? After all, there’s no way the NCAA is going to hand down groundbreaking sanctions on one of its most profitable programs while they’re still playing.

Right?

Next: Will Hoosier Fans Ever Be Happy?